Thanks for taking a look at my Cardomain page for my 2004 Toyota Matrix XRS. Leave comments in my guestbook if you like, I reciprocate the favor.

The goal that I have for my car is that one day I'd like to turn it into a possible show car, but not at big events like HIN or anything. Just local shows and meets. Aftermarket support for the matrix is very limited since it's not really a tuner car, but that was one of my reasons behind getting it. I want a car thats different, and you don't see many vehicles out on the road like the matrix (The Pontiac Vibe is the matrix's sister car and is virtually the same except for the exterior.). There are cars that are in the similar class, like the Mazda3 5 door and the Ford Focus ZX5. When I was shopping around for a car I had certian things I needed, manual transmission, cruise, ac, and a reliable track record with the engine and suspension (I plan to keep this car 5-10years or longer. Probably till the engine dies on me, and then I'll probably swap in a new motor). At the time I was looking around for a vehicle my options were the following:

Matrix XRS
Vibe GT
Mazda3 5 door
Focus ZX5

I eliminated the focus from the list because I just didn't like the look of the car, and I hated the interior, not to mention I found a list of problems with the vehicles durability and longevity. Next off came the vibe, again it was for the exterior, I just didn't like the look of it. So it came down to a brand new 05 Mazda3 5 door and the Matrix XRS. It was a tough decision between the two vehicles, they are very similar, but the Matrix won out in the end because it fit my needs better than the Mazda did. What sold me on the matrix were the following

-Upgradeable radio (The radio isn't upgradeable in the Mazda3)
-Plastic cargo area (I whitewater kayak so my wet gear and all my dirt camping equipment gets tossed in the back. The plastic is easier to clean than carpet)
-Built in household AC plug (I travel a lot with a video camera and computer, this allows me to charge my equipment while I'm driving without having a mess of cords and inverters in my car. While I could have put this into the 3, it is more work that I didn't want to do)
-It's a toyota (My family has owned many different cars from GM, Ford, Dodge, Mazda, Toyota, and VW. Toyota's and Mazda's have been the best out of all of them. What also sold me was 2zzge VVTL-i enigine in the matrix, the same engine as the celica GTS. The mazda3 engine and drivetrain is borrowed from Ford, and in my family's experience Ford's hold up well for a while but not for the long haul.)

I never thought that I would ever start modifying my car, I never saw the point of it before owning this one and becoming involved in a online matrix owners forum. So in my decision to purchase the vehicle aftermarket support never factored in. As it stands, I cannot afford to do much to the car because when I purchased the vehicle I had just graduated High School and I'm now enrolled in college. So my money goes first towards my education, then to my living expenses, car insurance, and then whatever I have left over is what I can spend for whatever I want. So modding money for me is very low, and this is why most of my mods are all low cost or functional.

This is the second vehicle I've owned, the first being a beater civic DX that I totaled in an accident with a deer (the 5th one for the car, 3 were never fixed because they were body damage 2 had to be fixed because the car was not driveable). So you can tell that I never put much thought into doing anything to a vehicle other than routine maintianence. When i got the Matrix, my plans were to leave it stock and not do anything. I ended up putting on a CAI about a month after purchasing the vehicle, I also got an mangnaflow cat-back at the same time planning on putting it on when the stock exhuast died (I put it on in December of 05). My intentions of upgrading the stereo system never went further than just a new HU so I could connect my iPod via RCA cables and an AUX in port. I ended up getting a Pioneer 860MP, Pheonix Gold Xenon 400W 1CH amp and 2 12" Blaupunkt PCw1200 subs. I am in no way an audiophile, I like to listen to music but not to the extreme of upgrading everything, so the basic entry level setup I have will suffice for me...for now at least. The longer I own this vehicle the more into audio and other preformance mods I become

Mods
All Weather Floor Mats $20
Custom Made Cargo Mats $47
Injen Polished CAI & Magnaflow Cat Back Exhuast $515
Pioneer Premier 860MP $387 after self install
Metra "custom" din kit $20 (Circuit City)
Blaupunkt PCw1200 Subs $80 for 2 after shipping
Dual 12" Single Chamber Sub Box $30 (Pawn Shop "Special")
2 Single 12" subwoofer Boxes (1.125cu ft) $25 (DIY)
Pheonix Gold Xenon 400W 1Ch subwoofer Amp $168
Interior Neons $18 for 4 tubes
LED's for interior $15 for 7 LED's and all installation hardware
Viper 5000 Security System W/ backup battery $395
RainX wipers $18
Debadged "TOYOTA" Emblem off rear hatch $FREE
No day time running lights or auto-on $FREE
CarPC around $700 (95% done, install around 5/30)
JDM X3 OEM tails $65 (To be installed)
JDM Headlights painted by Turbo&Auto $TRADED FOR STOCK
Hella Horns $TRADED FOR STOCK
TWM Short Shifter $TBD
Hotchkis Sways $200 (To be installed)
Stainless Door Sills $TBD

Mods to Come
Hard Cargo Cover (In Planning, temporarily on hold)
Custom Made Body Kit (In Planning, being designed)
Custom Sub Boxes (In Planning, to be completed in Spring/Summer '06)
DC sports or TRD STB
Lowering Springs (2" drop)
17" or 18" Rims gunmetal or silver
Under Body Neon or Multi Color LED kit
35% Tint All Around
RPS Street Disc Clutch
Hydra EMS
Turbo (2008 or later)

June 1, 2005

Just got the new car home. So far the first mod has been puttin on my yakima rack system.

Taken at the dealership

Another shot from the dealership

Locked, Stocked, and Ready to Rock

August 10, 2005

Got bored today so I decided to shave my ass...

Before and after shots

Pretty easy to do, just used a paint stripper to heat up the eblem then flossed/sawed if off with fishing line. Once the eblem was off I took off as much of the left behind adhesive as I could, and then used Scratch X to remove the rest. Finished off with a claybar and a coat of wax

Some more pics of the Trix after the debadge and wash n' wax

Thinking about putting the TOYOTA badge here above the shifter, still haven't decided yet.

November 18, 2005

Not much has changed to the car exterior wise, I have gotten a new HU (Pioneer Premier 860MP) and 2 12" subs (Blaupunkt PCw1200). Some asshole dented my drivers door, I'll have to get it pulled sometime, but right now since I'm at school, I'm just going to wait, I'm sure it will happen again.

November 27, 2005

I got new tires today, Michilen Exalto's. I'm so happy to be on them now, they grip way better than my old Continental Eagle RSA's (PIECE OF SHIT TIRES...NEVER BUY THEM!!!!). I can corner above 30MPH and not have my tires squealing, I can drive in the rain and not hydroplane above 40MPH, and I can't squeal my tires from 1-2 and 2-3 and 3-4 anymore (just a little chirp in 1-2 sometimes, no longer the 2 sec squeal)

January 5, 2006
I have just now broken over 30000mi with the trix, I have put on about 9000mi in 7 months of ownership. I'm still loving the trix ever since the day I got her.

Today I got my cold cathod lighting kits from www.xoxide.com. They're dual 12 inch red flourescent tubes that are designed to be put into a PC case. I've wanted neons in my car for a while but I refuse to pay $25 for one streetglow tube that has the same ammount of light output as one of these. I have 4 tubes, two under the dash and two under the front seats. They're hardwired into a wire that only gets power when my parking lights come on, and I also have them on a switch so I can turn them off at will. The only tools needed for the install are some wire cutters, 2 different colors of wire, electrical tape, tap in connectors, wire snake, and a pair of pliers. Total time for the install is probably around 2 or 3 hours if you're not taking pics like I was for the how to I'm making. Anyways enough with my boring rambeling, onto the pics of the glowage.

May 27, 2006
I've purchased all the parts for my CarPC and I'm currently building the case for the computer. I've already finished the fabrication of the 7" Lilliput 629 touch screen monitor into my radio bezel. Right now I just have to finish building the case, run my power and ground wires, and install a front end software onto the PC. I'm guessing that the install will happen sometime in the next week or two at the latest. Here's a breakdown of what I've got for my carPC setup

Mini-ITX Via SP13000 mobo with onboard graphics and video
512mb DDR400 Ram
40gig Laptop hardrive
Opus 120W power supply and start up/shut down controller
Lite-On USB external DVD-ROM
7" Lilliput 629 touch screen

Soon to be added in is a GPS reciever (a.k.a Mouse) and some other misc. things like a usb hub, OBDII software and hardware, and input devices (USB mouse and keyboard). I have to yet start looking around for a front end to use while driving around. I was orriginally planning on not using one, but the touchscreen on the montior isn't all that terribly accurate for navagating through windows and through menus and such.